The art and science of assessing prosocial behaviors in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

This study explored the influence of cuing on two prosocial behaviors, comforting and helping, in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty children with ASD (4;1-6;7) and 20 with typical development (3;1-6;5) participated in an experimental task that used cuing to elicit one type of comforting and three types of helping. Results revealed a prosocial behavior type by group interaction, indicating that children with ASD required more cues to elicit some, but not all behavior types. Children with ASD also demonstrated more variable response to cuing across behavior types, whereas children with typical development performed more consistently. Prosocial performance was correlated with general verbal and social abilities. Cuing is a critical variable that influences prosocial behaviors in children with and without ASD.